Sunday, December 12, 2010

I'm Back

Wow, I just realized I have not blogged since last Wednesday.  That's probably some sort of record.  True, I have been busy with my other site, which I promise to only mention by name every other post.  But mostly, it's because I read something last week on the blogs that didn't sit well with me.  This guy made a comment on a blog which in 3 short sentences pretty much encapsulated an attitude that I hope only a very small minority of endurance sport participants possess.  It's not what this person said, it's how they said it - arrogant, rude and demeaning.  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you've probably surmised that I'm not a huge fan of arrogance.  It's one of the reasons I'm losing more and more interest in the big pro sports leagues, for example.  But at least pro athletes are paid to be arrogant.  This guy is spending to be arrogant.  Think about it.

Anyway, I took a little bit of a blogging break.  But I'm over it now and I shouldn't have let one comment piss me off anyway.  My bad - onwards and upwards...

The weather was beautiful in Southern California this weekend, so I took advantage of it for some good training.  Friday was a 5 mile run at lunchtime.  And since you all know how much I like to party,  I went nuts Friday night with a...wait for it...2000 yard pool workout - outside, no less.

Saturday was a 65 mile ride through Irvine, Laguna Beach and Newport with OC Velo.  I flatted at about mile 15.  The tube change, which is usually a five to seven minute operation, took fifteen minutes because I had an audience of about 20 people.  I half-heartedly tried to convince everyone that the beads on Continental tires never do stretch enough to make things easy, but that excuse didn't work, especially after one of the guys came over and pushed the tire back on the rim in 15 seconds.  Talk about stage fright.

Today I ran 8 miles along Huntington Beach.  It was pretty much the perfect run.  I was planning on 12 miles, but between a 45 minute drive to the Orange County's "it" destination for bike geek heaven (a/k/a Laguna Beach Cyclery), getting a Christmas tree and putting up the outdoor lights, I ran a little short of time. 

My neighbor's house from space.

Incidentally, I almost blew off putting up the lights.  Because when I walked out of the garage this morning (with 4 strings of single strand lights and a power strip), my neighbor had 4 large crates of decorations and an entire crew of guys working in his front yard.  And we are not just talking about lights.  This guy has robotic reindeer, giant snow globes, accent lighting, a giant light up Santa, and a whole bunch of other stuff I have not even begun to comprehend yet.  The ambient light from this guy's set-up is going to pretty much negate everyone else's lights in the entire neighborhood.  It's like the midnight sun of northern Scandinavia around here now - as I write my living room is lit up like it's mid afternoon.

I hope everyone has a good start to the week.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Are you living next to Clark Griswald?

I gave up on our xmas lights this weekend when half of the strands wouldn't work? I replaced all the little fuses and they still didn't work so they got tossed in the trash!! So frustrating!

My next door neighbors are glowing as well!

Jennifer said...

People say the stupidest things, bloggers are no different and sometimes even worse. I stopped reading other people's comments for that reason, sometimes the things folks say can be so judgmental and weird.

Can't wait to see more on your "other" site, I think it's going to be great!

Lucas R. Tucker said...

I was discussing with a friend this weekend how cool you make living the OC seem with all of your good weather, and good places to run and ride. She then informed me she is from OC and that's were she moved here from a month ago when i met her, she also informed me that it is just that cool.

KovasP said...

Nice weekend of training, so jealous of the decent weather.

Christi said...

So sorry about the rude blogger! I love the new site for whoms name we cannot say! :)

Great workouts this weekend! Though, my weather was not as warm as yours it was good enough to ride and run outside! That rocked!

I hope you have a great week if you can sleep with Griswald next door!

Johann said...

You were able to get in some nice training, well done! I hope I get more time for the other site soon. I think it will grow nicely! Have a good week!

Black Knight said...

Sorry for the rude blogger. Sometimes I am afraid to write with a sense of humor because I am italian and my words could have a different meaning. We don't have the same sayings and quotes so the misunderstanding could be easier.
Anyway, decent weather good workouts!

Andrew Opala said...

global warming comes from too many outdoor decorations at Christmas time!

Jason said...

No lights on the house for us this year. If I want to see them I get in the car and get jealous (I mean I say to myself....ha ha you have to take that all down and I don't.)

I read your 2000y swim on Twitter and was thoroughly impressed and then read it was 1200y of drills on that other site and was even more impressed.

Great training there my friend.

Caratunk Girl said...

Geez, I missed the rude blogger. Happy for that! Keep up the awesome training, I am a little jealous of your weather!

Kate Geisen said...

It's a shame that every once in a while you come across a jerk on the blogs...or worse, they come across you. I'm so thankful for all the positive, welcoming, encouraging bloggers I've "met" blogging.

Sounds like you've been getting in some great workouts. I'm trying to keep myself in a routine of getting outside and not letting the weather stop me...unfortunately, I left my running clothes outside after Saturday's muddy run, and now they're under snow.

TRI714 said...

The weather was awesome. You threw down some great miles P.
I hope I wasn't the rude blogger.
I guess I missed it too.
The other site rocks, and is for the right reasons. Like minded people being able to share like minded ideas and then some.

valen said...

conti's beads are the easiest one to work on a tyre change... you shouldnt have lied to your audience, ha ha ha.

Jayme said...

I'm so jealous of your spur of the moment OUTDOOR swim. I miss swimming outside so much! The outdoor pool here is only open in the summer :(

Jill said...

Sorry I was a rude blogger ;).
My swim buddy bailed on me tonight and I was estatic I was going to sit home and eat Twinkies instead...thanks for making me feel guilty with that 2000 (which was awesome, btw). Ok, off to the pool I go....

ajh said...

A crew to set up lights? Really? Keep it simple and enjoy the holiday!

Unknown said...

I've been off for a while too so I'm glad I didn't miss too much on your blog.
Christmas lights....ours rarely get up until the last minute so I'm grateful to people who have no fear of hydro bills.
I know how to change a tire but help me if I ever have to do - especially in front of a crowd.
Sorry you had to deal with that arrogance.

Aimee said...

Again, I am sooo jealous of your weather!!!

Jeff's comment cracked me up! I'm all for xmas lights, but huge displays are a little much in my opinion!

Tortuga_Runner said...

I see the light patrol all the time. Professional light putter uppers who give you a deal and take them down after the holidays too. Craziness, it's just no fun if you're not falling off the ladder yourself.

The Green Girl said...

Yup, people will say dumb things especially when they can hide behind their computer screents.

Glenn Jones said...

Christmas trees. Christmas lights. The pressure of being a Dad! (I've done neither yet. I might be going for the holiday procrastinator award.)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails